Isis earns $3M milestone payment

Carlsbad-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISIS) has earned a $3 million milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) related to starting a natural history study that would support one of the programs in their alliance to develop treatments for rare and infectious diseases.

Current development-stage programs under the alliance include ISIS-HBVRx for patients with hepatitis B, ISIS-GSK4Rx for patients with an undisclosed eye disorder and ISIS-TTRRx for patients with familial transthyretin polyneuropathy, a disease that can lead to loss of sensation in the extremities and can also affect the central nervous system. ISIS-TTRRx is now in phase 3 development.